Category: State Department

After a U.N. agency issued a report in May on the state of poverty in the United States, concluding that 40 million Americans are poor and more than 5 million live in “Third World conditions,” the Trump administration ridiculed the findings.

The state of California has rejected the terms of the Trump administration’s initial request to deploy National Guard troops along the border with Mexico, U.S. military officials and the head of the Border Patrol said Monday, the latest sign of persistent tension with the White House over immigration enforcement.

The third day of the federal shutdown has already started disrupting the lives of Americans all across the country. On Monday, hundreds of thousands of nonessential government workers — from Florida to Alaska — were told to start shutting down their offices and many of the services they provide.

The White House will send federal departments a budget proposal on Monday containing the defense spending increase President Donald Trump promised, financed partly by cuts to the U.S. State Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other non-defense programs, two officials familiar with the proposal said.

The Trump administration in its first month has largely benched the State Department from its long-standing role as
the preeminent voice of U.S. foreign policy, curtailing public engagement and official travel and relegating Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson to a mostly offstage role.

Budget cuts proposed for the federal Education and State departments would affect students and researchers worldwide. President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget plan, which requires approval from Congress and therefore is subject to change, would cut $9 billion from Department of Education spending, or 13.5 percent. The State Department budget would be pared by $15 billion, or 28 percent.